A revised version of the NSF Proposal & Award Policies & Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (NSF 17-1), is
effective for proposals submitted, or due, on or after January 30, 2017. Please be advised that, depending
on the specified due date, the guidelines contained in NSF 17-1 may apply to proposals submitted in response to this
funding opportunity.

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have awarded a large share of bachelor's degrees to African American students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM), and nine of the top ten baccalaureate institutions of African American STEM doctorate recipients from 2008-2012 are HBCUs.[1] In 2012, 8.5% of black undergraduates attended HBCUs,[2] and HBCUs awarded 16.7% of the bachelor's degrees and 17.8% of the S&E bachelor's degrees to black students that year.[1] To meet the nation's accelerating demands for STEM talent, more rapid gains in achievement and successful degree completion in STEM for underrepresented minority populations are needed. The Historically Black Colleges and Universities Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) is committed to enhancing the quality of undergraduate STEM education and research at HBCUs as a means to broaden participation in the nation's STEM workforce. To this end, HBCU-UP provides awards to develop, implement, and study evidence-based innovative models and approaches for improving the preparation and success of HBCU undergraduate students so that they may pursue STEM graduate programs and/or careers. Support is available for Targeted Infusion Projects, Broadening Participation Research Projects, Research Initiation Awards, Implementation Projects, Achieving Competitive Excellence Implementation Projects, and Broadening Participation Research Centers; as well as other funding opportunities.

Targeted Infusion Projects (TIP) provide support to achieve a short-term, well-defined goal for improving the quality of undergraduate STEM education at HBCUs. The Broadening Participation Research (BPR) in STEM Education track provides support for research projects that seek to create and study new theory-driven models and innovations related to the participation and success of underrepresented groups in STEM undergraduate education. Research Initiation Awards (RIA) provide support for STEM faculty at HBCUs to pursue new research at the home institution, a NSF-funded research center, a research intensive institution or a national laboratory. Implementation Projects provide support to design, implement, study, and assess comprehensive institutional efforts for increasing the number of students receiving undergraduate degrees in STEM and enhancing the quality of their preparation by strengthening STEM education and research. Within this track, Achieving Competitive Excellence (ACE) Implementation Projects are intended for HBCUs with exemplary achievements and established institutionalized foundations from previous Implementation Project grants. Broadening Participation Research Centers provide support to conduct world-class research at institutions that have held three rounds of Implementation or ACE Implementation Projects and with demonstrated capability to conduct broadening participation research.

Broadening Participation Research Centers are expected to represent the collective intelligence of HBCU STEM higher education, and serve as the national hubs for the rigorous study and broad dissemination of the critical pedagogies and culturally sensitive interventions that contribute to the success of HBCUs in educating African American STEM undergraduates. Centers are expected to conduct research on STEM education and broadening participation in STEM; perform outreach to HBCUs in order to build capacity for conducting this type of research; and work to transfer and disseminate promising broadening participation research in order to enhance STEM education and research outcomes for African American undergraduates across the country.

[1] National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. 2015. Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering: 2015, Special Report NSF 15-311. Arlington, VA. Available from http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/.

EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY
This program provides educational opportunities for
Undergraduate Students
.
This program provides indirect funding for students at this level or focuses on educational developments for this group such as curricula development, training or retention. To inquire about possible funding opportunities not directly from NSF, please look at the active awards for this program.